About SoCal horse racing, Del Mar in particular

Del Mar opinions for Wednesday, Aug. 29

PREVIEW: Early speed horses and pressers dominated last week on the main track and many of those winners started from the middle of the gate to the outside, according to statistics from Brisnet.

Bettors who follow the circuit year-round should remember this for future reference. If you find a horse that started from the inside or closed down the stretch, they are worth following in their next races, whether that comes at Los Alamitos or Santa Anita.

The same could be said of this coming week at Del Mar. Analyze where the winners come from and if you find a bias and find a horse that does well despite it, they are worth following.

One long shot jockey to keep an eye on the final six days of the meet is journeyman Ruben Fuentes, He has won three of his last 11 races with his winners averaging $28.67. That’s not chump change.

In the final week you will see a lot of trainers dropping horses in order to either get rid of the animal in a claiming race or just to have some money in the purse account. You have to try and figure out a trainer’s intent.

That is also true of 2-year-olds. Is a trainer trying to win a race now or is he/she trying to set up something for the future?